Fabrication and characterization unique ribbon-like porous Ag/LaFeO3 nanobelts photocatalyst via electrospinning

• The ribbon-like porous nanobelts were fabricated for Ag/LaFeO3.
• The formation mechanism of ribbon-like porous nanobelts is suggested.
• The ribbon-like porous Ag/LaFeO3 nanobelts displays excellent photocatalytic activity.
• The suggested mechanism is responsible for the enhanced photocatalytic activity.

Ag/LaFeO3 nanobelts were synthesized by a sol-gel assisted electrospinning method. The surface morphology, microstructure and crystal structure were investigated by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction respectively. The SEM results reveal that the obtained Ag/LaFeO3 nanobelts contain a large number of pores. The XRD analysis shows that when Ag content reaches 15 wt%, there are obvious Ag° characteristic peaks. With the increase of Ag content, Ag° and LaFeO3 characteristic peaks in the samples are enhanced as well. The photocatalytic activity of Ag/LaFeO3 nanobelts is investigated for the photo-degradation of Rhodamine B aqueous solution under visible light. The result demonstrates that 15 wt% Ag/LaFeO3 nanobelts exhibit excellent photocatalytic activity compared with others.